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michael r. Sisak / the citizens' voice
Christian Hackenberg will face the first hostile crowd of his career Saturday at Ohio State.

Christian Hackenberg won't fold like the freshman he is Saturday.

He'll play well. He'll carry Penn State's offense. He'll make some clutch throws. He'll shoot for the end zone like a confident veteran. He'll be everything the Nittany Lions want and need in a big-time, big-game quarterback.

He'll even lead his team to victory over one of the nation's best teams.

Now, who knows if any of this will come true. It might not. Maybe they'll turn out to be just bold, wild predictions. We are talking about an 18-year-old kid here, one who has never competed in an arena like the one he'll see Saturday night, on the road in the Big Ten, against one of the top teams in the nation.

But that's not the point.

The point is that you can't exactly be surprised if it all happens. And in that, you can't pay Hackenberg a bigger compliment.

On Saturday, Penn State will march into Ohio Stadium in Columbus to face Ohio State, and for Hackenberg, that will mark his introduction to what a hostile road environment in conference play really is all about.

Don't think that's a big deal? Well, Hackenberg has played away from Beaver Stadium just twice this season. Once against Syracuse at MetLife Stadium, and that crowd seemed decidedly behind him. The other came against Indiana, and Memorial Stadium in Bloomington was half full - a fact Penn State probably doesn't mind much right now, considering how it played that day.

This trip promises to be quite a bit more challenging.

The Horseshoe is historic in itself. Combine it with a rabid crowd unabashedly backing their Buckeyes, and the fact their Buckeyes are gifted enough to have won 19 straight games, and you have one of the toughest road trips in the nation. The young Nittany Lions will have to play with plenty of poise just to give themselves a miniscule chance at victory, and most teams starting a true freshman quarterback wouldn't have that good a shot.

What makes this team a little different is that Hackenberg has proven to be a little different.

Hackenberg has made his share of mistakes, without question. He threw a few bad interceptions in the Michigan game, and he has fumbled twice this season. He has thrown six picks in all, and it would have been a significantly higher number had Indiana made good on a few solid chances it had to make plays on his telegraphed out passes.

But in a very tangible way, it's those mistakes that should make you really like what Hackenberg has done this season.

Because not one of those mistakes, no matter how damning at the time, ended up crushing his spirit. That's really rare, to see an 18-year-old, at such a high-pressure position, learning on the job and never having to fight through a crisis of confidence.

"One of the things that has struck me about Christian since the day I met him, which was at junior day almost a year and a half ago now, is his demeanor," head coach Bill O'Brien said. "He's a calm guy. He's got a quiet confidence about him. You know, he understands that it's football. It's football. It's a part of his life. But I think he's a very well-rounded guy that we've got here."

Penn State has played in six games, and an argument can be made that he improved in all but the Kent State game. And against Kent State, the Nittany Lions' running backs were so dominant, he hardly needed to get his strong right shoulder loose.

Against Syracuse, he battled through the first half, then threw for a pair of scores after halftime once Allen Robinson got off the bench.

He was solid against Eastern Michigan, and in the two losses against Central Florida and Indiana, Hackenberg was a combined 51 for 83 for 602 yards and four touchdowns. Certainly, when his teammates were battling adversity, he was not dragging them into the depths.

How did he respond in the Michigan game after those couple of interceptions and a second half that was going the way of the Wolverines? He threw three professional-caliber passes on the final drive of regulation, and Penn State came back to win behind his arm and guts.

Now, he brings a young Penn State team into Columbus, a place where more veteran Penn State teams have melted under the spotlight before. But you have to at least entertain the idea that this is exactly Hackenberg's scene, that he accepts the fact that mistakes will be made now and relishes the chance to overcome them.

"You're playing Ohio State in the Horseshoe," O'Brien said. "I mean, that's a great opportunity for everybody. But I think when the game starts, everybody involved is really just focused on the game, not the 90,000 people, 100,000 people that are sitting in the stands. You have to deal with the noise and things like that, but you're just very focused on what your job is on that play and on the next play and on the next play. I think that's probably what he thinks about quite a bit."

Hackenberg doesn't play like a freshman, and that's likely because he doesn't think like one. Maybe, those few mistakes he always seems to make early in a game will show up again, and with a team of Ohio State's caliber, in a stadium with that type of home field advantage, Penn State might be doomed if they do.

Or maybe, it won't be.

There mere entertainment of that idea tells the story of Christian Hackenberg, from his strong present to a limitless future.

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